Interview with Diane Nelson, New Head of DC Entertainment

MTV News interviewed Diane Nelson in the wake of the corporate restructuring of DC Entertainment by Warner Bros., itself in the wake of last week’s buyout of Marvel Entertainment by the Walt Disney Company.

With the huge changes in the comic book world in the past two weeks, rumors and speculation are running rampant among comic book fans, while lots of "official statements" have been generated by Marvel and DC that fail to answer the questions on the minds of readers in the wake of these huge announcements. MTV News caught up with Diane Nelson, new head of DC Entertainment, and tried to get some of these answers.

Nelson, of course, reiterated the idea that the changes at Marvel and Disney will be a good thing for both companies, as well as comic book readers in general. She also touted her skills and experience working with and nurturing creative people while working on various brands at both Warner Bros. and DC.

She also talked about how the newly restructured DC Entertainment will give DC the power to properly cross-platform build the thousands of characters and properties in the DC, Vertigo, and Wildstorm Universes, and create real brands out of some of the lesser known properties, something that Marvel has been very successful with in the past ten years. Of course, she admits, with all the talk of "cross-platform" and "branding," what she really means is "movies," or at least that they will play the most important role in these strategies.

Nelson assured readers that the new focus will not take anything away from the publishing arm of DC comics. This is the cornerstone of DC comics, and they will continue to build both the physical publishing wing of DC as well as the future in digital publishing. The stories and characters that DC hopes to brand and market originate in comic books, and Nelson believes that the company has a tremendous respect for that.

When asked about the role comic book creators will play in the other-media adaptations of DC properties, Nelson specifically mentioned Geoff Johns, Marv Wolfman, and Grant Morrison as creators that have already been a part of the advisement process in the new strategy, and stressed the importance of the relationship between comic book creators and the "experts" in the movie, television, and other mass-media divisions.

When asked about the rumors of a "callback" of DC properties under development outside of Warner Bros., Nelson admitted that there is a strong belief within the company that DC properties should be developed in-house. Finally, she mentioned that she is currently reading "Comic Wars," a nonfiction history of Marvel Comics, and will be reading every DC comic she can get her hands on to prepare for her new role.

Source: MTV News
Syndicated from The Outhouse – Comic Community Run By Fanboys, For Fanboys
Posted originally: 2009-09-11 11:54:11

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